Explore: Engineering

Reliability Engineer
PEME

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Laurie-Anne Benner

My name is Laurie-Anne Benner I’m a Reality Engineer for PEME. I work up and down the country and we also have projects across the world. I’m a mechanical engineer, but I also work in condition based monitoring. So that can thermal imaging, oil analysis and vibration. So we’re working in preventative maintenance to reduce break downs and down time. We’re a contracted company and we work in blue chip factories across the country, including well know sugar manufacturer, pet foods, so it’s all processing factories that we work in.

 

My father works for Princes’ and he’s worked there for 24 years so he got me interested in the processesing side and my husband is a plant mechanic so he got me interested in the engineering side. My granddad always told me you have to have a trade. I applied to college with West Anglia, they had an advertisement in the local newspaper for apprenticeships with engineering and through college with the West Anglia PEME contacted me and from there I went to an interview stage and I got the placement within PEME.

 

When I was at school to be honest I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  Throw my GCSEs I didn’t have a clear career pathway that I wanted to go down an I went through A-Levels and I still wasn’t sure. I attended a few career open day in Norwich to try and get some ideas and talking to my father, my grandfather and my husband I became interested in what he was doing, engineering as he was going through his apprenticeship at the time.

 

At my school if you didn’t get all A stars you weren’t good enough. I wasn’t an A Star student and I was basically told that my only option was forces. I’ve done an interview with my school magazine which is going out this year, saying the opportunities that there are within apprenticeships and how I’ve done with my career. I don’t think that many people thought I was able to go into this sort of career and especially not do as well as I have so.

 

I did a short term week and University as a taster and it wasn’t the right atmosphere and it wasn’t the best way for me to learn. I’m very hands on and I wanted to get the practical experience in a job and I also wanted a chance to earn the money while I’m learning.  I myself are 21, my husband is 23 and at a very young age we were able to afford things that most people wouldn’t at our age.

 

There’s a wide range in the engineering sector that I could have gone into but my main focus was processing.  The processing industry is fantastic, what they can do and the new technology that is coming out. PEME have set out a career pathway for me and there are a large number of opportunities with the sites we have, we have opportunities across the world.

 

For me there aren’t any ordinary days, one day I could be doing mechanical maintenance, the next day I could be doing a thermal imaging survey or electrical panels and the day after that I could be setting up a computerised SAP or SHIRE system.

 

So the first year at college was full time, the second year was part time at college; the third year was full time on site. University is for some people but the opportunities you have in an apprenticeship, you’re able to earn the money while you’re learning, you’re able to have your qualifications as your working and you’ve to the experience that you’re building with your onsite mentors who have been in this job for more years than you’ve probably been alive so you’re getting the experience from them, which is really important. I’m glad I took this path, it’s a fantastic career and I love what I do.

Laurie-Ann had an interest in Engineering from school, which was influenced by her father who is a mechanical engineer. After completing her A-levels she decided against university and instead began a four year apprenticeship. She has seen many of her friends struggle to find employment after university and feels that she definitely made the right decision to further her studies whilst working.

More information about Mechanical engineers

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£47,840
average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

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38
average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

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93%  male 
7%  female 

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description
? Mechanical engineers undertake research and design, direct the manufacture and manage the operation and maintenance of engines, machines, aircraft, vehicle and ships’ structures, building services and other mechanical items.
Qualifications
Mechanical engineers usually possess an accredited university degree. After qualifying, periods of appropriate training and experience are required before membership of a chartered engineering institution is attainable. Incorporated engineers possess an accredited university degree, BTEC/SQA award or an apprenticeship leading to an NVQ/SVQ at Level 4, followed by periods of training and relevant experience.
Tasks
  • Undertakes research and advises on energy use, materials handling, thermodynamic processes, fluid mechanics, vehicles and environmental controls;
  • Determines materials, equipment, piping, capacities, layout of plant or system and specification for manufacture;
  • Designs mechanical equipment, such as steam, internal combustion and other non-electrical motors for railway locomotives, road vehicles, aeroplanes and other machinery;
  • Ensures that equipment, operation and maintenance comply with design specifications and safety standards;
  • Organises and establishes control systems to monitor operational efficiency and performance of materials and systems.
Employment by region
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Top 10 industries for this job
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Other trans. equipment 10570
Architectural & related 10041
Head offices, etc 6747
Construction 6283
Repair & installation 6101
Specialised construction 5513
Motor vehicles, etc 4484
Machinery, etc 3971
Metal products 3471
Rental & leasing 3108
Employment status
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